A year after Ohio’s property tax crisis reached a boiling point, the state has begun rolling out relief —but the fallout is still plain enough to see.
Cuyahoga County sold a record $18 million in delinquent property tax debt in June, while Mahoning County ’s auditor lists more than 24,000 delinquent parcels. And with some of the biggest reforms only beginning to reach tax bills, it remains unclear if it is too little, too late.
The roots of the pressure reach back years, as soaring home values, reassessments, and rising tax bills pushed frustration across Ohio to a breaking point.
Last spring, Mahoning County tax delinquency rate hit 18%, with more than $70 million in unpaid property taxes. Some neighborhoods in Youngstown saw rates as high as 1 in 3 homeowners behind. In Cuyahoga County, values jumped 32% on average after reassessments, fueling a $60 million increase in past-due balances.
Matt Nolan , president of the County Auditors’ Association of Ohio, warned it could get worse, saying that homeowners could face an additional 25% increase in property taxes in the coming years.
The Buckeye State now ranks eighth in the nation for property tax burden—ahead of even New York and California —yet it sits 40th in median household income.
With the state’s tax system under scrutiny and reform measures stalled, a grassroots movement is stepping in where the state Legislature has not, calling for nothing less than the abolition of property taxes altogether.
From boom to burden: Why are taxes surging in Ohio?
Ohio has been at the center of a Midwestern revival, booming in cities such as Columbus and Cleveland, drawing new development, and watching home values climb across once-stagnant suburbs. But with that growth has come a surge in property tax assessments that many homeowners say they simply can’t keep up with.
In Cuyahoga County, recent reassessments raised home values by an average of 32%, with some communities seeing even steeper increases. For example, East Cleveland jumped 67%. For homeowners who bought modest properties decades ago, their taxes now seem closer to those of luxury subdivisions.
Part of the issue is structural. Ohio reappraises property every six years, meaning many residents just underwent their first reassessment since the COVID-19 pandemic-fueled housing boom. That’s created a massive collective jump in assessed value for the state—and, in many cases, higher tax bills.
Lawmakers say they hear the growing frustration, but meaningful relief has yet to materialize. That inaction has helped spark a grassroots movement that’s gaining statewide attention: a push to abolish the property tax entirely through a constitutional amendment.
“Much of what has been proposed in the Legislature should have been done 20 years ago to have any meaningful effect on people,” says Beth Blackmarr , an organizer and spokesperson for Citizens for Property Tax Reform. Her group helped launch the repeal movement, though she says leadership has since transitioned to a campaign known as Ax the Tax.
At the same time, legislative battles continue. In late July 2025, Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a provision that would have limited local governments from placing certain levies on the ballot. But the House overrode that veto, and if the Senate follows suit, the restriction could become law.
While the measure might slow future tax hikes, it does little to address the financial distress homeowners are facing now. That’s one reason grassroots groups are still gathering signatures in hopes of putting a full repeal of the property tax on the ballot in November.
For many homeowners, the wait for reform has grown intolerable. With no fixes yet in place and higher tax bills looming, frustration has reached a boiling point.
The cost of inaction
When 1 in 3 homeowners in a city like Youngstown can’t afford to pay their property taxes, it’s no longer a personal problem. It’s a policy failure—one that puts thousands of homeowners at risk of foreclosure.
Or, as one mortgage broker bluntly told Blackmarr: “If you really want to find out who owns your home, don't pay your property tax.”
It’s a situation that she knows all too well.
“When I got my property tax reevaluation last year, I opened the envelope up and hit the floor,” Blackmarr told Realtor.com® in May. “Panic.”
Her home's assessed value had jumped by 51.9%. That unexpected spike triggered a tax bill so large, it came as both a wake‑up call and a tipping point.
“We cannot have people losing the homes that they worked all their lives for and paid in full for,” she said in a follow-up interview with Realtor.com this week.
She's heard from homeowners whose property tax bills now exceed their original mortgage payments, and now, she fears what that means for the next generation.
“It is a very bad and dangerous situation,” she said. “It’s robbing our young people of the American dream of homeownership.”
What’s on the table: Repeal, caps, and commissions
With frustration mounting across Ohio, lawmakers, organizers, and the governor are each advancing different solutions—some sweeping, others incremental.
At the extreme end is the citizen-led initiative Ax the Tax, which would abolish property taxes entirely by amending the state constitution.
The proposal has gained traction, with supporters arguing it’s the only way to force lawmakers to act. Critics, however, warn it would blow a $23 billion hole in local government funding, jeopardizing schools, emergency services, and infrastructure.
A more targeted approach is gaining momentum in the Legislature. State Reps. Tex Fischer (R-Boardman) and Beth Lear (R-Delaware) are backing a proposal that would cap property taxes at 1.25% of a home’s market value, and 1% for seniors who’ve lived in their homes for at least five years.
Meanwhile, DeWine, the governor, has launched a property tax reform task force, giving the group until the end of September to produce recommendations that will make a “meaningful” difference for homeowners. But its authority is limited: It can propose, not enact, and any final changes will require support from both chambers of the General Assembly.
The County Auditors’ Association of Ohio has even stepped in, proposing a four-pronged relief strategy. In testimony before the Joint Committee on Property Tax Review and Reform, it suggested expanding the homestead exemption program, expanding the owner occupancy credit, limiting growth in revenue for local jurisdictions, and instituting a broad swath of programs that could offer targeted relief to moderate- and low-income residents.
As legislative maneuvering continues, Citizens for Property Tax Reform is focused on education.
“People need to know how to challenge their property values,” Blackmarr said. “When they get these huge valuations, they need to know what to do. They need to know what their rights are. They need to know what information is available to them.”
